The Charles Olson Society of Gloucester in collaboration with many local partners has organized more than a dozen events to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of Charles Olson's birth. Contact the society at jcgloucester@hotmail.com.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Last night six poets -- Rufus Collinson, David Rich, Amanda Cook, Schuyler Hoffman, Kent Bowker, and James Cook -- gave the first reading in the new Gloucester Writers Center. Hoffman, the evening's host, remarked upon the range of the evening's work: translations from Scots Gaelic and neobaroque Spanish, a blogger's daybook, lyrics on Linda Crane and the San Francisco Renaissance, meditative free verse, ekphrastic lyric, and seriocomic hallucinatory drama.

Tonight the words of Olson's friends Peter Anastas and Jonathan Bayliss will be celebrated at the Sawyer Free Library at 7 p.m. Map here.

Friday, October 1, 2010

I just wanted to remind you of three important events this coming weekend. PLEASE TELL AS MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS AS YOU CAN ABOUT THESE EVENTS!

On Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Ellery House on 245 Washington Street, State Senator Bruce Tarr will present a proclamation from Gov. Duval Patrick naming October Arts and Humanities month. This event coincides with the Charles Olson Centennial. I will be there and it would be great to have some other members of the Olson Society present. You will also have a chance to view the installations of Olson-inspired art by painter Susan Erony and photographer Paul Cary Goldberg, who also designed the Olson Centennial poster.

At 4 p.m. at the Cape Ann Museum, on 27 Pleasant Street, there will be a reading, reception and book signing for Dave Rich's new book, "Charles Olson: Letters Home," a collection of letters from Olson to various Gloucester residents. I've seen the book and it is marvelous.

At 7 p.m. Ammiel Alcalay will read from his new novel "Islanders" at the Bookstore of Gloucester, 61 Main Street. This is an extraordinary novel and I hope as many of us as possible can turn out to support Ammiel, who has been an incredible help to us in planning and organizing the Olson Centennial.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3Charles Olson: Letters Home, Book SigningReading and reception with the book's editor David RichSunday, October 3 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant StreetAmmiel Alcalay reading from IslandersSunday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m.The Bookstore of Gloucester, 61 Main Street

Peter Anastas, Charles Olson, Vincent Ferrini

(Click on the photograph to go to the blog of photographer, Mark Power)

Gloucester Writers Center

Gloucester may soon be home to a new cultural and literary center. When Gloucester’s Poet Laureate Vincent Ferrini died on Christmas Eve 2007, many of his friends in Gloucester and around the world hoped his house could be purchased andturned into a center where artistic activities could be shared with the community. Today this idea is very close to becoming a reality.

Plans are progressing to establish The Vincent Ferrini Writers Center at 126 East Main Street, in Gloucester, Massachusetts. This former home of Vincent Ferrini (1913-2007) lies across the harbor from Charles Olson’s (1910-1970) 28 Fort Square home. These two poets, known as the consciences of our city for over half a century, wrote about Gloucester with enlightened passion and energy. Organizers of this project believe it is only fitting that a place that honors their work and keeps their vision alive be established.

Since Ferrini’s death Paul Sawyer, an old friend of Vincent’s who lives in California, has been advocating for the purchase of the house. This spring, Sawyer, a Unitarian-Universalist Minister, called Vincent’s nephew filmmaker Henry Ferrini to report that he has Pancreatic Cancer and has been given a year to live. With that time he wanted to put his energy toward helping to create a Vincent Ferrini Writers Center at Vincent’s East Main Street studio. The poet’s nephew was moved by Paul’s decision.

“Paul’s decision has motivated so many people close to Vincent, Charles and Paul to work to make this a reality,” Ferrini said.

To date the group has raised $23,000 and hopes to raise ten times that amount during the upcoming year. This would enable the organization to own the house outright,repair the building and begin to develop programs for the site, including public readings, writing workshops and residencies for local and visiting writers.

According to Ferrini, the timing for this project could not be more perfect.

“This year is the Centenary of Charles Olson’s birth,” he says, “and attention is focused on the poet.”

The group hopes that by October when Gloucester celebrates Olson’s centenary the project will be up and running, presenting programs, providing a writer’s retreat andfunctioning as one of the most innovative educational and cultural organization in the city.

Tax-deductible contributions for the establishing of the Center can be made to the Charles Olson Society and sent to Henry Ferrini, 5 Wall Street, Gloucester, MA 01930.